News

Please note that United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced that all Nicaraguans and Hondurans who wish to maintain their Temporary Protected Status (TPS), MUST re-register between December 15, 2017 and February 13, 2018. Although the re-registration dates are the same, please note that there are very important differences.

First, USCIS has announced that TPS for Nicaragua will be terminated on January 5, 2019. THERE WILL BE NO SUBSEQUENT RENEWAL OF NICARAGUAN TPS.

Second, USCIS has not made a final determination as to whether to continue Honduran TPS. As a result, Honduras’ TPS designation has automatically been extended through July 5, 2018. However, the status of Honduran TPS Holders WILL NOT BE EXTENDED AUTOMATICALLY. Individuals currently holding Honduran TPS MUST RE-REGISTER between December 15, 2017 and February 13, 2018. Otherwise, they will lose their status. Unfortunately, their extension will only be valid until July 5, 2018. However, USCIS has indicated that it is automatically extending the validity of employment authorization documents issued under Honduran TPS until July 5, 2018.

The longterm future of Honduran TPS remains uncertain. USCIS is required to make a decision by May 6, 2018.

We are still awaiting a decision on the future of Salvadoran TPS.

Schedule a consultation with us today if you are interested in discussing the extension of your TPS or exploring alternative immigration options.

Sandra, her son Joel, and daughter Sandra demonstrate the drive and strength of so many of the immigrants we are privileged to meet in our work. They have overcome significant obstacles—and dangers—to support each other in the pursuit of their dreams.

Sandra had had a good life as a grocery store owner in her native Honduras. Unfortunately, the early to mid-2000s witnessed the birth of the devastating crime epidemic that plagues Honduras to this day. Rampant gang violence made it impossible for Sandra to earn a living. As a single mother with no outside support, she faced the extremely painful decision faced by too many Central American parents these days: would she remain in Honduras to be close to her children, but watch them struggle through poverty and violence? Or would risk everything, including her life, to come to the US so that she could find a job that would help her to adequately feed, shelter, and educate her children? Although it broke her heart, Sandra came to the US and placed her children with family members.

Although Sandra found work, her troubles were not over once she came to the US. She met a boyfriend who subjected her to extreme domestic violence. Although she left him, he stalked her relentlessly for years, threatening to have Sandra deported or killed. The psychological torment was extreme, and Sandra took great pains to avoid him, relocating and finding new jobs. Ultimately, the man was arrested and Sandra assisted in his prosecution.

As a survivor of crime who reached out to and collaborated with law enforcement, Sandra was able to apply for U nonimmigrant status (“U visa”). This is an important immigration benefit that protects immigrant victims of crime who report criminal activity. Through her U visa, Sandra was able to get work authorization. She began working in La Cocinita food truck, and she has been able to return to her entrepreneurial ways to become a part owner of La Cocinita. La Cocinita serves up delicious Latin flavors throughout New Orleans, and now La Cocinita plans to open a restaurant in Chicago!

Sandra was able to reunite with Joel and Sandra, who are both in school. Sandra just started college, while Joel is working on his nursing degree. It has been a true privilege to work with them and to watch them fight for and live their American Dream. Congratulations Sandra, Joel, and Sandra!

​We are extremely proud to have collaborated with local arts nonprofit Court 13 (which produced the movie “Beasts of the Southern Wild”) to bring members of the Mexican arts collective Artsumex and film producer Tonitzen Gómez to participate in Court 13’s annual Always for Pleasure Festival (AFP) in New Orleans from November 16 - 21.

Court 13, Director Viktor Jakovlevski, Tonitzen, and their talented team of filmmakers will be showing their new documentary “Brimstone and Glory” on Tuesday, November 21, at the Orpheum Theater in New Orleans as one of the featured events of this year’s 5-day festival. The film documents the National Pyrotechnic Festival in Tultepec, Mexico. The festival is a weeklong celebration of San Juan de Dios, who is the patron saint of firework makers. Pyrotechnicians and other artists use the occasion to share their virtuosity in a celebration of the town’s unique and explosive contribution to Mexican culture: it’s estimated that 60% of Tultepec’s workforce participates in the fireworks industry.

Artsumex artists will create a torito, one of the highlights of the Pyrotechnic Festival, to share with us at Always for Pleasure. They and Tonitzen will also discuss the film at the screening on November 21.